Saints donít think Mark Ingram will be 100 percent when camp starts

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Saints coach Joe Vitt addressed running back Mark Ingramís health in a press conference on Monday and his assessment wasnít entirely positive.
According to Vitt, Ingram, who had arthroscopic knee surgery 10 days ago, wonít be ready to fully go ...

According to Vitt, Ingram, who had arthroscopic knee surgery 10 days ago, wonít be ready to fully go when the team starts training camp this summer. He expects him to be up to full speed by the start of the season, but Jeff Triplett of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that the team will ďback offĒ Ingram until heís 100 percent recovered.

I still don't get it. What was so special about this guy in the first place? Yeah, he won a Heisman, but a lot of Heisman winners have been crap in the NFL. I never saw anything about his game that was worth trading up to get him, when we were already crowded in the backfield. And that was before we signed Sproles. Plus, he had some nagging injuries at Alabama, so that was another concern.

I hope he makes use of himself at some point soon, but right now the way I see it, we have two guys who can't stay healthy - Ingram and Ivory - and when they ARE healthy, there is no question that Ivory is a far better player right now. So, it's difficult to imagine Ingram having a future here. But, anything can happen. He does have some talent even though I thought he was a wasted pick.

I still don't get it. What was so special about this guy in the first place? Yeah, he won a Heisman, but a lot of Heisman winners have been crap in the NFL. I never saw anything about his game that was worth trading up to get him, when we were already crowded in the backfield. And that was before we signed Sproles. Plus, he had some nagging injuries at Alabama, so that was another concern.

I hope he makes use of himself at some point soon, but right now the way I see it, we have two guys who can't stay healthy - Ingram and Ivory - and when they ARE healthy, there is no question that Ivory is a far better player right now. So, it's difficult to imagine Ingram having a future here. But, anything can happen. He does have some talent even though I thought he was a wasted pick.

I do not disagree with his performance last year. I do cut him a little slack due to the nature of his rookie season.

A rookie year is a transition year for any player. A rookie year with no OTA's, mini camp, preseason training just makes "finding a groove" that much more difficult.

Last year he averaged 3.9 YPC which puts him right in line with Chris Johnson, Amahd Bradshaw.. Which is also better than Addai, Jacobs, Green-Ellis and Tomlinson....

If you are looking at TD's well, that is a function of utilization.. But he was still in line with PThomas, Jackson, and Blount.

So what exactly about his rookie season was so terrible? Spreading the ball like we do also does not help someone have a stellar rookie year.